History of the Institute

On December, 19, 1925 the Scientific Establishment Administration of Commissariat of USSR approved the project aimed at reorganization of the Scientific and Research Department of Pedagogy in Kharkiv Institute for Folk Education into the Research Institute of Pedagogy. On April, 2, 1926 the State Scientific and Methodological Committee of Commissariat of USSR adopted a resolution about the foundation of the single centre for scholarly research in pedagogical science in the Republic – the Ukrainian Scientific and Research Institute of Pedagogy (USRIP). The Institute legalized its position in October, 1926 on the basis of the Research Department of Pedagogy in Kharkiv Institute for Folk Education and Kharkiv Experimental Station for Social Education Management under the Commissariat of USSR. Since then the history of the Institute of Pedagogy of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences (NAPS) of Ukraine began in the course of which the Institute name has been changed and specified three times: in 1926 it was the Ukrainian Research Institute of Pedagogy; in 1955 it was the Research Institute of Pedagogy of USSR; from 1992 it was the Institute of Pedagogy of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences (APS) of Ukraine (from 2010 – National Academy of Pedagogical Science (NAPS) of Ukraine).

At the end of December, 1926 11 sections operated at the Institute with 110 scholars on staff, including 17 heads and full members of the Institute, 13 affiliates, 49 postgraduate students and 31 interns.

The Institute conducted the research in the following directions:

- the soviet direction and politicizing of school for children’s class upbringing;

- materialistic only approach of any issue;

- mastering of principle of labour upbringing and as a derivative a problem of productive inclines at school;

- championing of the youth movement in the broad sense of the word, and mainly of the communist youth movement;

- the necessity of bringing work onto a new complex or some other system in a counterbalance to older subject system as well as progressing to a new methodical technique.

The reorganization of the structure of the Ukrainian Scientific and Research Institute of Pedagogy (USRIP) took place in 1930, determined by the complication of pedagogical problematic due to of stormy cultural processes in Ukraine. The Kyiv branch of the Ukrainian Scientific and Research Institute of Pedagogy (USRIP) began to operate in the same year, and in 1934 the directorate of the Institute moved to Kyiv. In Kharkiv the scientific establishment – Kharkiv Institute of Pedagogy functioned till 1936.

During 1937-1941 the scholars of the Ukrainian Scientific and Research Institute of Pedagogy (USRIP) worked on the quality of research in pedagogy, psychology and separate methods. That was the time for scholar staff organization to further develop and introduce a number of new textbooks for general secondary schools and methodical manuals for teachers.

In 1941 the Ukrainian Scientific and Research Institute of Pedagogy (USRIP) as stopped operating but in October, 1943 it renewed its activity in Kharkiv. On January, 4, 1944 it was relocated back to Kyiv.

A post-war period was marked by the further extension of research by the Institute scholars. In 1948 the ongoing Republican Pedagogical Exhibition was opened at the Institute (in 1977 it was reorganized into the Pedagogical Museum of USSR). In the 1950s, the Institute of Pedagogy became the acknowledged centre for pedagogical research in Ukraine. At that time its scholars studied the problems of polytechnic and vocational education in general secondary schools.

In the 1960s considerable efforts of the scholars were aimed at theoretical substantiation of the content of school education, new programs, textbooks and educational manuals development and piloting.

In the 1970s-1980s the important research was carried out on the determination of approaches to Ukrainian and Russian languages learning under the conditions of the bilingualism, content, forms and methods of student’s writing and speaking development.

Since 1991 the scholars further improve and develop the pedagogical science in the independent Ukraine. The Institute of Pedagogy undertook the implementations of many tasks (curricula, programs, textbooks, educational manuals, educational equipment and others), which earlier had been carried out by the Ministry of Education and Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the USSR.

Since 1992 the Institute of Pedagogy is in the structure of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine.

As on January 1, 2013 the structure of the Institute is represented by 22 laboratories, in particular: History of Pedagogy; Comparative Pedagogy; Didactics; Primary Education; Rural School; Ukrainian Language Teaching; Ukrainian Language and Literature at Schools of National Minorities of Ukraine and Diasporas Teaching; Russian Language and Languages of Other Ethnic Minorities Teaching; Literary Education; Foreign Languages Teaching; Social Science Education; Geographical and Economic Education; Chemical and Biological Education; Mathematical and Physical Education; Informatics Teaching; Integration of the Content of Education; Labour Training and Polytechnic Work; Educational Establishments Management; Pedagogical Innovations; School Equipment; Profile Studies and Vocational Consultation; Education Quality Assessment. 299 scholars work at the Institute, including 38 Doctors Habilitated and 107 ones with PhD degree.